De Stella Nova
by DisneyMuse
Summary: Fates have shifted, and familiar stars are born in new ways. Small moments in their lives- whether due to the supernatural or the people around them- have set them on their new paths. One day they may be bound by the beast with one eye. But for now, there is a world of mysteries yet to be discovered. A series of one-shots highlighting characters in the Reverse Falls AU.
On the Reverse Falls AU: If you don't know what this means, I'd suggest looking up the Reverse Falls or Reverse Pines tag on tumblr. But if you just want the quick story, it's the idea of "What if certain roles were switched in the show". Instead, Dipper and Mabel perform at the Tent of Telepathy and are manipulating the town from the shadows (Behaving as both Gideon and Pacifica) while Gideon and Pacifica (Who mainly goes by Paz) are the heroes of the Mystery Shack that discover Journal 3 and use it to try and uncover the town's mysteries. Some roles are switched, personalities changed and others remain roughly the same. In the case of Dipper, he's usually colder, calculated and a schemer. In the case of Mabel, she's more sadistic and enjoys playing with her victims. The list goes on, and people are free to make up their own interpretations of who is now fulfilling what role (For example, anywhere from McGucket, Bud Gleeful or Carla McCorkle can be now running the Mystery Shack). It's a very fluid AU, allowing people to draw and create whatever content they like for this AU.

Summary: A young Dipper feels the weight of his family name upon him

* * *

Of all the activities and forced lesson plans part of the twins' lesson plan, the boy probably hated the piano the most. The repetition of notes over and over to form a pattern. One slip up, and the glares of everyone in the room were on you. The sequence was simple enough, but it was always the same. He hardly had the creativity to compose the music himself. His sister probably could have, but her interest was more in the physical arts. She had more patience for the keys, but with each stroke, the youth longed to be doing something else.

BAG # A^C-

The code here he understood. It was simple. Keys to letters. But it was a language he understood, not a message that needed to be decoded. Not created for his own enjoyment, but for those observing.

^DCBC^E-^FED#

Why stagnate on a puzzle already solved? He much rather be exploring the old mansion. As much time as he spent indoors, he always reviled in imagining what kind of secrets were built into the oaken beams. This place had been here longer than his family had. And yet the only ones that seemed to care to examine every nook and cranny were its youngest residents.

E-E-^BAG#A BAG#

He managed to find a secret room with his sister the other day. A dusty old hideaway behind a portrait, like a good old fashion haunted mansion. They hadn't gotten a good look at all the paintings with the lack of a light source but they'd promised to come back tonight. At the dead of midnight when the shadows were at their thickest, the moon was full, and they could explore all they liked with no one to scold them.

A^C-vA^CGAB… G?

"STOP"

The loud booming voice echoed from behind the young boy. He at first assumed it was his music tutor. But he heard them much more often than the one behind him. It probably would have been immediately followed with a slap to the wrist and a long intricate list of insults if it had been. But the silence hung. His hands froze on the ivory planks, feeling colder than ever. No… it wasn't fair. Why now? He hardly ever screwed up, even when he was daydreaming. He'd just played this same exact song twice perfectly. They hadn't said anything then. Why now?

"Look at me."

But the young boy was still frozen in fear. He messed up. He assumed he'd get his chance at some kind of big recital. That he'd have all the planning and preparation ready to do everything just right. That he could prove that he could be everything they wanted him to be. He should have had more time, or been given some kind of warning. Had they been watching from afar? For how long? Were they always watching, or was it just at this very moment with this little slip of the fingers did fate decide to laugh at him? His mind panicking was snapped out of its spiral for a moment by the hand on his shoulder.

"What are you even good for if you can't do something so simple?" The voice whispered in his ear.

He shouldn't have hesitated. Not on the keys, and not in front of _him_. All he had to do was turn around. Face the man he was so desperate to please. He knew he'd only get scolded. But that was better than the emptiness he'd gotten before. Just face the man he'd only seen in portraits and photographs. Whose voice he'd only ever heard in recordings and news stories. That after all the dreams of waiting for this moment, thinking it would happen on some kind of grand stage. Where his years of studies and practice would pay off. Where he'd be held in his parent's arms and showered with praise. But no. It had to happen here in this dreary old music room. Shouldn't he at least be happy that they were here at all? But he couldn't even move. As if maybe if he didn't look, they didn't exist. That it was all a bad dream, and if he just stayed perfectly still, he'd get a do-over.

"Disappointing." The single word from the elder Pines' mouth was heavy and blunt, further striking the youth's psyche down. His hands collapsed from their curved playing position and laid still between the black flat and sharp keys.

"Do you even realize what you did wrong?"

Why wouldn't it stop? This paralyzing sensation that wouldn't even allow him to turn his head? Fear? He could handle the dark. He relished in the freedom it brought. He sought out the monsters hiding under his bed and was met with disappointment when there was only dust to be found. He'd researched for all the gruesome imagery he could find. But this certainly must be what fear felt like. Not being able to do the simplest of actions despite every logical thought in his head screaming at him to move. He gave a slight twitch of his head that he prayed could be interpreted as a nod.

"Care to elaborate? Or do I need to arrange to have that stage fright worked out of your system?"

The small boy had been in front of crowds before. Performed in front of hundreds. When he knew people were watching and what was expected of him, he knew to carefully play out each move, could perform a symphony and make it look easy doing it. But this was just one person. Why wasn't it simpler? He knew the answer. All he needed to do was get the words out of his mouth. He didn't even have to look back at them… Not that he could. He closed his eyes in frustration. Why wouldn't his body listen to his own commands?

"I… I…." The trembling high pitched voice finally managed. "I hes…."

But the person standing behind him had enough of this. They wasted enough time on something that clearly wasn't worth their effort. "You hesitated."

The two cold words hung in the air. Of course he was right. He just couldn't speak the words. His head drifted downwards, sea-green eyes locked on his fingers stiff on the keys. The pause before he played the note… would it have been better just to make the mistake and go on hoping no one noticed? But the hesitation brought attention to it. Whether or not he made a mistake after that, the pause would be noticed.

"So many different tutors I have to pay, and you can't even manage such a simple thing."

The boy felt the hand move from his shoulder to the back of his palm. The tiny fingers easily cupped within the grown man's grasp. In all his dreams they were supposed to be warm. Fill some kind of void. He was supposed to be bursting with joy for this moment. Why was every inch of him telling him to run? Get out of there and never look back. But he couldn't. The chills down his spine made any movement impossible.

"Even if only a single person is watching. Even if you drift off the script- you never hesitate. It's only a mistake once you let them realize that."

The words continued to echo in his head. He should be enjoying this moment. His father was speaking to him. But they weren't even words meant only for him. He'd heard them before. The arrogant Pines before him wasn't trained professionally in the arts, yet he still performed on the public stage. And the only thing he seemed to love more than the sound of his own voice was when others loved it too. 'Public speaking' and 'self-help' talks were his way of making it looked like he cared about others when there was only one thing he really cared about. "Have confidence in yourself" "You are the most important person in the room- if you don't believe it, how can you expect others to?" "Don't let them see you sweat." Words probably stolen off of others lips. Yet if you spoke with enough confidence it seemed like anything off your tongue was gold.

The boy knew he made a mistake. But how did such a little matter determine his entire self-worth? He was still learning… this session was just a normal part of his lesson plan. Did he expect him to have been born perfect? This wouldn't happen on the stage. Not when he knew people were watching. He'd make sure of it.

The boy finally managed to open his mouth and bring the words to his lips. "I'm still learning. I'll get better- I swear." He said with a tremble in his voice. He _had_ to get better. He couldn't let something like this happen again. No matter how little the mistake.

"You better… 5 years of an investment. And more money sunk into you than the average boy or girl your age. I better not get anything average out of you ever again. I've been paying for perfection. Understand?"

The young boy gave a small nod once again. But it wasn't good enough. The parent's grip on their hand became rougher. He tugged the small arm closer toward them, forcing the young boy to turn toward his father.

"Look at me." They commanded once again.

The boy stumbled on the stool as he was turned around. He'd seen their face many times before. The same brown hair. The Pines family nose. The eye color was the same as his own as well. Many considered his father handsome, and his caretakers claimed he should be proud to look anything like him. But the face shape was sharper and harsher than anything the young boy had seen in a mirror. It wasn't anger he saw on his father's face. No disappointment. No sadness. It wasn't the same mask he'd seen for interviews or public appearances. He couldn't even bother to put that lie on for his son. Looking into his eyes, all the young boy could think to describe him was one word. Empty. None of this mattered to him. Whether it was because he knew he get what he wanted in the end, or it didn't matter to him if the puppet in front of him danced perfectly on his strings or not. The sight before the man was pointless, and he made sure the child knew it. Was this lack of care just another mask meant to motivate the boy to try and prove him wrong, or did the man the faithful son tried so hard to impress think that little of him?

He waited for some sort of command… advice… scolding. Anything to try and fix what was wrong. To move on from this. Anything to stop looking at those eyes. He pleaded in his mind for something… anything. The boy's pupils dilated as the fear grew. 'Let me go. I'll do anything.' He prayed to whoever might be listening. What he got was only a sneer of disgust. The man turned away without another word, leaving the boy as frozen as he'd been the moment he entered the room.

The boy sat there, still half fallen off the piano bench. He was still stunned by what had just happened. After all the butlers, caretakers and servants that surrounded him in his life, he had finally met his father for the first time. And in that one chance he had, he failed. The great Pines legacy, and he had fallen short. If he tried harder, would he ever grow to the heights everyone expected him to? Or was he unworthy of his name? He wasn't even sure he wanted it. If he had been born with any other, would he have been good enough? What did it even mater? His own was never even spoken aloud. "Young Master Pines" or worse yet, "boy". No one knew who he was. Just who they wanted him to be.

"Again"

This voice the boy recognized. His music tutor. He hadn't even left the room for this great first meeting. Did he not realize the occasion, or did he not care? He certainly hadn't made a move to interfere. But perhaps he was just another person that didn't matter. A nameless figure in the crowd. A role to fill. The tutor… the father… the prodigy. They all had their parts to play. He could either shrivel like a coward. Forever be just a boy. Or he could try to make a name for himself.

The young prodigy straightened up and resumed his positions on the keys. But the song he played wasn't the same as before. A new series of notes began to emerge from the grand piano. A new string of code that had begun to haunt his dreams. Simpler than the famous piece he was repeating before, but the rapid jagged notes were soothing. Shadows that crept tight around him in his nightmares, threatening to swallow him up had become a common occurrence as he slept. He never feared them, and he never would. Their embrace was nothing compared to the cold he know he'd have to live with his entire life.

D-EF-a-GaC-D-E-F-E-G-a-G-F-

* * *

Author's Notes: Hello! Hope you enjoyed this first in a series of one shots that sparked the lives of various Reverse Falls characters in different ways! I hope to be experimenting with different styles and techniques. This one in particular was the challenge of writing a Dipper before he had that name (Without giving him a fan name or just calling him Dipper) as well as working with the piano. I don't play, so while the notes scattered within the first part are roughly inaccurate (Tried to use Mozart's Turkish March, but it didn't come off well), I worked hard to make sure the last series of notes came out properly, even spending 2 hours on a piano to learn how to play it myself. Not exactly a code, and you could probably guess what it's supposed to be, but it was fun to learn nonetheless.

I plan to cover each character in the Cipher Wheel and already have specific ideas for Gideon and Soos, with rough canons of what each character is like in this AU. Please let me know in the comments which characters you're looking forward to seeing and your thoughts so far!


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